Bladed Wings by Jarod Davis Read Free Book Online

better. My goal isn’t war, and I don’t aim for combat. No, I’m all about success. I’m not looking to conquer the world. Not yet anyway. After all, the hard part’s over. We finished a while ago. The real war is over. Now everyone is just bickering over the spoils. It’s a question of patience and strategic planning to see which demon gets to be on top.” He spoke with the measured focus of a man who enjoyed the sound of his own voice.
    Timothy thought he sounded like a business major, but he asked, “War?”
    “Against the angels. We won.” Cordinox headed for the door and motioned for Timothy to follow. “Twenty thousand years of bloody combat and we grind them down to a slow defeat. Mostly.”
    “But you’re the bad guys,” Timothy said as he jogged to catch up.
    “We’re the competent guys,” Cordinox said as he led Timothy through the different halls. Badly lit, they crisscrossed past different doors, all nondescript, and Timothy only needed about two minutes to get completely lost.
    “You keep saying my new soul.”
    “Correct. You have two now. Congratulations.” Cordinox went to one door, pushed it open, and said, “You should meet the others.”
    They passed through hallways which were as dark and tight as mine shafts. Stale dust hung on the air and gave the demon’s hideout the feel of an abandoned museum. Timothy knew he should be asking questions. He needed as much information as possible, but he couldn’t think of anything. Instead he followed Cordinox until they opened into one big chamber filled with wooden boxes. “A warehouse?” he asked.
    “Cheap rent,” Cordinox said before he turned back to the rest of the boxes and called, “Everyone, we have a newcomer!”
    It was like they had waited for his order to appear. A sparrow hopped down, landed a few feet from Cordinox, and blazed with light to become Isis. She smiled at him, almost giggling when he retreated back, still shocked someone could do that. Then there was Morgon, but he was different now. He wasn’t eight feet tall. He was at least two feet shorter and his muscles were gone. Instead he appeared to be a very tall but very skinny guy. With his black hair pulled back into a ponytail, he watched everyone, bored. “And the last of our cheerful little group,” Cordinox said, as a brown haired woman with a wrinkled mouth and tired eyes approached.
    “Cheerful,” she sneered.
    “This is Hecate,” Cordinox said. “Then we have Morgon and Isis whom you’ve already met.” Timothy looked at them. Demons, these were demons. If Cordinox was right, a demon’s soul rested in his body too.
    Morgon and Hecate looked bored. Isis waved a happy hello.
    Cordinox showed Timothy around his lair, a warehouse stuffed with wooden crates. Locked doors lined the halls, rooms for his followers and the secrets he kept. Timothy tried to pay attention, but these tunnels, halls, and rooms all looked the same. It didn’t help that these new realities completely blew away any concentration he might’ve had. Architecture didn’t feel important when they talked about angels.
    After the tour, he asked Isis to give Timothy a ride back to his apartment. And she drove him. That part felt the most normal. They drove a black sedan, unmarked. “Are you freaked out?” Isis asked half way back. Timothy glanced over her and couldn’t believe she was a demon. He thought demon and there was the still the image of horns, goat legs, a tail, maybe a pitchfork if he was feeling really unimaginative.
    “Yes.”
    “You shouldn’t be.”
    “Why not? Yesterday all I had to worry about was school and work.”
    “Why worry?” she asked, way too chipper.
    “Because now I’m in fights and getting chased and killing people with water. That seems like a good reason to freak out.”
    “Yeah, but most of that’s done now.”
    “You’re not helping.”
    “Look at it this way,” Isis said. “You can’t control what’s happened. It’s done. Give up